News Analysis - The imposition of religion
WORKERS, JAN 2006 ISSUE
The incredibly named Equality Challenge Unit has published its guidance for "Employing People in Higher Education: Religion and Belief". The ECU has consulted every religious body in the UK, be they single cults, multi-faith organisations, religions with single campaign obsessions, flat-earthists or good old-fashioned pagans. The purpose of the ECU document is to continue the elevation of religion in Britain and permit tiny and dwindling religious organisations to foist their cult ideas on youth, via schools, colleges and higher education institutions. Religion is smuggled into the workplace by abuse of the legislative process.
Reactionary legislation, mostly emanating from the European Union, is being foisted on Britain: the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulation 2003 which follows from the EU Framework Directive of 2000 and the draft Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which has yet to face Parliamentary opposition. Much is made of protecting minority religious opinions.
The government's own figures indicate that self-defining religious labelling equates to 72% Christian, 6% other religions combined (Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Other (including Star Wars characters) and 22% non-religious or atheist. What the government does not highlight is that of the 78% who claim some sort of religious leaning, 50% admit to never having attended any religious ceremony. It is estimated that only 7% of those who claim any religious belief attend a religious ceremony or place of worship on a regular basis. "Regular" is not defined – it could be eating turkey once a year!
Redundant churches
The first Redundant Churches Act was passed in Britain in 1874. This legislation provided for state funding to prevent the physical collapse of Church of England buildings which had neither a congregation nor clergyman. That legislation is updated annually as religious buildings of all denominations dwindle and fold.
Every religious strand of thought has developed in conjunction with the economic class forces of the day. Hence Catholicism replaced paganism and early religious views and Protestantism replaced Catholicism as the capitalists overthrew feudalism. Religions rooted in other feudal or pre-feudal societies, such as Judaism, Sikhism, Islam and Buddhism, survive, reflecting uneven development across the world. The resurrection of fundamentalism, from whatever source, whether it be Christian, Creationist, Islamist or Zionist, reflects more the use of religion by economic interests, such as imperialism, to dominate and retain power.
Religion must be unplugged from its parasitical life support systems. No more state money for redundant religious buildings – they should be found a proper secular use (such as housing). No funding of creationist City Academies or religious schools. Reason and science must expunge superstition and backwardness.